Novell Considering Being Acquired [UPDATED]
According to J.P Morgan analyst John DiFucci, Novell is considering selling off either parts of the company or the entire business to create more value for shareholders.
Technology
Semiconductor Equipment Outlook Better, but Still Bad
Semiconductor equipment sales in North America are improving, according to industry group Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). That's the good news. The bad is that although investment is up, which would indicate some increasing confidence among manufacturers, it is still "near historically low levels." And global spending on fabrication plant equipment and construction is in the tank, at the lowest level in ten years.
AT&T Taking iPhone Flak
Senators asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate handset exclusivity plans may have consumers' best interests at heart, but it looks for all the world as though they're actually trying to punish AT&T for messing up their iPhone experiences. Senators John Kerry (D-MA)...
Microsoft's Biggest Enemies: Its Greed and Market Reality
Microsoft is a company that has long had its share of doubters and detractors. And clearly it faces stiff competition in the form of various companies, depending on what market niche you're discussion. But if Microsoft has a single big danger, it doesn't come from a Google. No, its greatest adversary is the evolution of the PC market, which is putting pressure on its biggest product and weapon: Windows.
Google Invests More Money in Start-Up of Co-founder's Wife
You'd think that a billionaire like Google co-founder Sergey Brin would be happy to channel some investment money into his wife's start-up. And you'd be right. Only, believing in the old business phrase of Other People's Money, he's doing so not just out of his own pocket, but those of Google's investors. And he -- and Google -- have doing so in some ethically questionable ways for at least two years.
Google, Yahoo, Facebook Face Congress
Governmental interest in online behavioral advertising has been heating up since last summer when the House Energy and Commerce Committee issued letters to online ad industry leaders about whether they track consumer web surfing to better target advertising. The process continues as Google, Yahoo, and Facebook appear before two House subcommittees.
Amazon's Dizzy Diversification Dance
Continuing the game of "What business are we in now?", Amazon apparently is moving quickly into the private-labeled goods business. There are already hundreds of Amazon-owned brands in home and garden, bed and bath, furniture, and tools . But when you add some of its other ventures -- the Kindle and cloud computing -- you have to wonder whether Amazon is spreading strategy and management attention so thin that it might end up hurting itself.
Google And Facebook Feeling Twitter Pressure
Search is dead; long live real-time search. Twitter playing such an integral role in the Iranian election protests that the U.S. State Department asked its management to delay a maintenance shutdown only hastened the inevitable. Like it or not, Twitter is here to stay, and competing search engines k...
Microsoft's Bing, Google, and When Search Rings the Register
Microsoft's new web search site Bing has been increasing its market share, according to new figures from comScore. It's going to take a lot of momentum to make serious headway, as Google continued to expand control of search between April and May. But that leaves the question of when -- and how -- search actually pays off for companies.
Microsoft Mud Won't Stick To Google
Microsoft is trying to discredit Google's enterprise push by highlighting a bug that probably affects fewer users than there are Democrats in the state of Utah. The issue revolves around a new feature introduced by Google allowing customers to switch to Google email and productivity applications ...
Google Scripting A Mobile Future
Google's recent moves in the mobile device market are aimed at a community more important than end users. Almost unnoticed in the flurry of Palm Pre, Research in Motion BlackBerry Tour and Apple iPhone introductions, Google announced a new scripting environment allowing developers to create new mobi...
Google Screws Up Another Enterprise Charge with Outlook Sync [UPDATED]
Google was touting its new approach to making Google Apps work with Microsoft Oulook. But it now appears that Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook may disable Outlook's ability to search any data. If Microsoft is being up and up about the bug report, then it's another example of how far Google has to go to turn itself into a vendor that enterprises can trust.
Last Rock From the Sun
Sun Microsystems had been working on a new chip project, called the Rock, for five years. The multi-threading, multi-core SPARC chip was intended for such applications as heavy computation and big database servers, going after the type of demanding use that had been a strong point for the company. Now there's a report that the project has been cancelled. But, if so, was it mercy killing, or murder by a disinterested Oracle?
Twitter Pan, MySpace, Facebook, and Riding the Fad
It's been a tough day for MySpace as the company fired nearly 30 percent of its workforce. When it's tough to tell whether the blood on the floors from the axing is flowing as fast as the printer ink as those who remain prepare resumes, the atmosphere is serious. However, what MySpace faces now is something to which both Twitter and Facebook should pay close attention. The world can seem fine when you're on top, but when your business is driven by fad and fashion, up and down can switch in the blink of an eye.
Stock Options Cloud Merger Perspectives
The acquisition of Sun by Oracle is casting a large shadow that obscures a couple of other potentially important acquisitions in the tech world. One acquisition target, niche storage vendor Data Domain, has rejected an all-cash offer from EMC in favor of what seems like a less lucrative offer from N...
Some Israeli settlers use sheep to push Palestinians from West Bank homes
Terminal in Riyadh airport hit again, a day after deadly strike killed 12
Trump announces Russia-Ukraine "energy ceasefire" after criticizing Zelenskyy
Drone swarms are a problem Secret Service says they have not solved yet
Steve Bannon on the GOP and the midterms: "We can't afford to lose"
Trump administration ordered to cancel taxpayer-funded TV ads
Live
Iran calls U.S. response "insufficient" amid stalled talks to end the war
DHS secretary defends livestream of Fort Hood shooter's execution
